Neutropolis: Invasion of the Cyclos

Project Description

The prompt for this assignment was to re-interpret the story of War of the Worlds into a 5-scene attraction and fully develop 1 of those scenes. For our scene, my partner and I chose scene 4: hiding, where humans are hiding from the invading aliens. Over a quick 5 weeks, I wrote and designed all the creative, while my partner focused on budget and scheduling for the project. We decided to lean into the horror of the situation and push the boundaries of how far scares can go in a dark ride. This was an amazing collaborative project with a very tight turnaround, and I learned a lot of new techniques to render and light 3D models.

Software Used:

Sketchup  //  Lumion  //  Adobe Illustrator  //  Procreate  //  Adobe Photoshop

Date:

July - August 2026

Logline

In the 1970s, humans unlock more powerful nuclear energy, but Cyclos from Mars invade to harness it. Your tour of Neutropolis is cut short as you are forced to hide in the nuclear plant. Now you must escape undetected and learn their plan for domination.

High Concept

Cyclos from Mars have been monitoring earth since the moon landing. Now it’s the early 1970s and humans have just discovered a more powerful form of nuclear energy called fusion technology, where energy is created by fusing atoms rather than breaking them apart. The US government has just built Neutropolis on an island in the Chesapeake Bay. This island is the first “atomi-town”, where employees of a nuclear power plant and their families can work and live without ever having to leave the island.

You are taking a tour of Neutropolis just as the Cyclos from Mars being their invasion. After boarding your tour cart at the welcome center, you start down the main street of Neutropolis, where you spot the crashed alien ship and get your first glimpse of the Cyclos. You seek shelter as you are caught in the crossfire between Cyclos and human soldiers. You head across the beach before hiding in the nuclear plant. Here you discover the Cyclos are using nuclear energy to fuse with their weapons and armor to make themselves indestructible. You accidentally bump into a pipe and alert them to your presence. You now must escape the nuclear plant before you become their next victim.

Scene 4.1: Search

You enter the Neutropolis Nuclear Power Plant into a room full of spinning turbines and machinery. Ahead you see a large pipe with a silhouette of a Cyclo inside. A turbine whirs in a glow of light as the silhouette mutates and grows.

Scene 4.2: Sneak

You spin around to see a Cyclo above you, draining a factory worker of their blood. Your car quickly changes direction to avoid detection.

Scene 4.3: Hide

You pass under a large pipe. As you turn the corner, you see shadow of a Cyclo on the catwalks above you. A single mouth tentacle juts down and “sniffs” above your car. You silently round the corner and enter the computer room.

Scene 4.4: Clang

You turn again into a narrow room lined with computers on either side. Ahead you see a Cyclo with their back to you, standing at a control board. You face the Cyclo as your car backs away, but your car bumps into a pipe that sends out a stream of smoke and causes the radiation detection light on your vehicle to ignite. The eye tentacle of the alien spins around to face you as you hear a snarl. The car quickly backs away as robotic voice says “Meltdown containment initiated.” Your car quickly rounds the corner into the central control room.

Scene 4.5: Found

You face a large, curved wall of flashing buttons and knobs. You hear a loud bang behind you as the car spins around. You see a partially-destroyed wall with the outline of a giant Cyclo on the other side. 3 mouth tentacles reach through holes in the wall and bite at you. These tentacles are twice the size and more metallic than you’ve seen before. A red light from the Cyclo’s eye points at the vehicle and you feel heat as their heat gun powers up. Your car speeds out of the room down a corridor. You see glimpses of the Cyclo following you through holes in the wall. The robotic narrator says “10 seconds to containment.”

Scene 4.6: Chase

You round a corner, facing a dark corridor labeled “Exit.” Before you go forward, the giant Cyclo emerges from the shadows. A large tentacle reaches down above your car as the red light from the heat gun points at you. Your vehicle speeds away backwards as the Cyclo chases you through the room. The Cyclo fires their heat gun and your car quickly spins to avoid it.

Scene 4.7: Flee

To your right you see the heat gun has blasted a hole in the reactor, as a half-mutated Cyclo rushes at your vehicle. Your car exits the scene, just as the blast doors close and you hear a loud explosion.

Additional Materials